A Home for the Holidays
by shadowfaxangel
Summary: When an accident forces the Gilbert's out of their house, where will they spend the winter holidays? A belated holiday tale about friends, family, and new traditions. - Temporary Hiatus until early Fall (look for it's return around September!)
1. Burning Down the House

Author's Note:

I hope you'll forgive that this is a somewhat belated holiday story. I had initially planned to start posting this between Thanksgiving and Christmas…and then between Christmas and the New Year…and, well, you can tell that didn't happen. What started out as an idea for a fun little Damon/Elena Christmas scene (since we have yet to get a Christmas episode), morphed into something more and refused to be just a one shot. I spent a number of days staring at a blank screen and then just drabbling with the characters (I actually posted a bit of this as it's rather amusing, you can find it in my profile). This is my first foray into the world of fan fiction, and I will admit that the task of writing such well known, beloved characters is incredibly intimidating.

I hope I did them justice. I owe many, many thanks to my wonderful friend and beta 2serendipity for her support and fabulous feedback. If it weren't for her constant encouragement, this would likely have never made it beyond the idea stage. Thank you, my friend! 3

I think that about covers it, I hope you enjoy the results of my random holiday musings.

[Obligatory disclaimer: I definitely don't own any of these wonderful characters, but I do so enjoy watching them and getting to take them for a holiday spin.]

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><p>'Vacation, finally,' Elena thought to herself as she walked into her room. School had been released early that afternoon in anticipation of the upcoming holiday, and she for one was thankful for the break. She toed off her shoes and shed her jeans in favor of her cozy blue sweats. She swept her hair up into a messy bun and pulled her journal out of its hiding place, reaching for her favorite purple pen before sinking down onto her bed, to sprawl on her stomach across the fluffy comforter.<p>

_Dear Diary,_

_We finally have a break from school, and I definitely need it. Everything seems to keep happening at lightning speed these days. Things are changing too fast. People keep leaving…and dying. Rules keep shifting, but the bad guys keep coming. They seem to be the only consistent thing in my life, which is really just kind of sad. It feels like we are constantly jumping from one epic crisis to another. There never seems to be a moment to just breathe and simply be, let alone even begin to try to process everything that my life has become. If someone had told me a year ago that vampires and other supernatural creatures were real and that my destiny was undeniably and irrevocably intertwined with theirs, I'd have thought they were either drunk or high…or both._

_Don't get me wrong. Even if I was given the choice, which I'm certain I won't be (unless fairy godmothers exist too and no one's bothered to tell me – at this point I might not even be surprised). I don't know that I'd change anything. To live my life without this knowledge, without these people…I cannot imagine it. Well…maybe I'd change a few things. But ultimately I know that it's the constant pressure and danger that has driven us closer together. Jeremy and I lost our entire family, but life - dare I say fate? - has brought us another family. It's different and dysfunctional, and it's broken sometimes, but it's good nonetheless. We have amazing people in our lives who truly care about us and who we care about in return. I didn't think we'd ever have that again, not like this…not really ever. I thought it was one family per customer, that's it, game over. Although it sometimes feels like it, I know we aren't alone, and there is comfort in that._

_It still hurts though, everything that has happened, everyone we've lost. The holidays have always been one of my favorite times of the year. There is so much joy and goodwill everywhere. People are just generally more happy and pleasant to be around. And everything is so very light and sparkly; it makes it hard not to smile. But I'm scared this year. What if I can't do it? What if things are so different that they just don't work? I'm afraid that the traditions will just make the loss more painful, that their absence will accentuate the devastation I feel, making it unavoidable…uncontrollable._

_I'm thankful for the break, but sometimes I think that the unending chaos is really a blessing in disguise. It gives me something to focus on; it's a distraction of sorts. Sometimes I worry that it might end and that I might be left with nothing but the loss and the heartache. I don't know that I'm ever going to be ready to face those things head on. I'm terrified that I will fall utterly and completely apart and that I won't be able to put myself back together. If I start…I just don't know how I'll be able to stop. I can barely handle this in small doses – full strength might just kill me. But I can't fall to pieces. I have to be strong, for the others. It's not fair to them if I fall apart. They have all done so much for me already. They are constantly risking their lives just to keep me safe (and complaining and threatening anytime I try to return the favor). The least I can do is keep my happy and brave face in place. I can't be there for Jeremy or Alaric or anyone else if I come unglued. After all, this is not just about me. I'm not the only one who has experienced loss. I probably haven't even experienced the worst of it. It would be selfish of me to forget that or act like my feelings are the only ones that matter. I want to be there for everyone. I need to be there for everyone. And I have to be okay in order to do that._

_Sometimes it's just hard though. I -_

Elena was startled out of her reflections by a loud crash from somewhere downstairs. Sitting up, she crinkled her nose at the faint but distinct acrid stench of smoke. She was halfway down the stairs to investigate by the time the fire alarm began wailing at an ear-piercing decibel. Pressing her hands firmly over her ears, she ran the rest of the way to the kitchen, stopping short at the sight of Alaric frantically flapping a kitchen towel in a futile attempt to put out the flames curling out of the open oven door.

"Ric, you're just fanning the flames..." she muttered as he reached for a pot full of soapy water sitting beside the sink, waiting to be washed.

"Don't!" She yelled in warning, but it was too late. The flames billowed up to the ceiling in a fireball as the water hit them, and Elena ducked behind the door just in time to miss being burned. When she stuck her head around the corner moments later, Ric was lying unconscious on the floor several feet from the oven, the kitchen burning around him.

"Ric!" she screamed, rushing into the kitchen to drag him away from the flames racing up the walls. Dropping to her knees next to him once he was out of immediate danger, she felt for his pulse, wincing at the burns covering his exposed skin. She quickly pulled her phone out of the pocket of her sweats and dialed 911.

"Hello? Yes, we need help! Our...um...our unc- no…our uh, our...friend...he's hurt, the oven caught fire... there are flames everywhere…" She trailed off, listening to the operator before rattling off the address and hanging up with instructions to get out of the house and assurance that help was on the way.

She shoved her phone back into her pocket and leaned down, slipping her hands under Ric's arms to drag him towards the back door. She coughed violently, the thickening smoke making it difficult to breathe properly. She painstakingly pulled him inch by inch towards the back door, her eyes stinging and her face glistening with sweat from the intense heat of the fire that was quickly consuming the kitchen. She'd almost gotten to the door and reached behind her to open it, just as it flew open of its own accord.

"Damon!" Elena gasped in relief as she saw him, her mind vaguely noting his oddly halo-like silhouette as the smoke poured out of the open door, blending and swirling with the fading sunlight behind him.

He glanced around, quickly taking in the situation before flashing to Elena's side. Without asking any questions, he grabbed Ric and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's hold, before wrapping his arm around Elena's waist and pulling her outside to safety.

Elena dropped to the ground as soon as Damon released her a short distance from the house, greedily filling her lungs with the sweet, crisp winter air.

She bit back a sob as she saw Damon gently lowering Alaric down to the grass, his angry red burns looking even worse than they had inside. "Damon..." She began, her voice quivering as her eyes filled with tears.

Damon didn't respond as he quickly assessed his friend's injuries and checked his pulse before biting into his wrist and pushing it firmly against Alaric's mouth, urging him to drink. He waited a moment until Alaric actually starting drinking, letting him take a few mouthfuls before pulling his arm back and allowing his blood to work its magic.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the burns begin to heal themselves, the raw red flesh slowly fading to reveal healthy new skin. Ric's eyes opened as the wailing of approaching sirens echoed through the neighborhood. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, glancing questioningly between Damon and Elena.

"Wha-" Ric was cut off as Elena flung her arms around him in a fierce hug.

"You scared me," she choked out, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Ric apologized sincerely, bringing his arm around her in an awkward hug when she made no move to release him. "I didn't mean to. What happened?"

"You threw water on a grease fire," Elena began to explain, finally sitting back to look at him.

"Later," Damon murmured before she could continue, leaning over to pull both of them to their feet. A shiny red fire engine arrived moments later, spewing firefighters and equipment from within its confines. They rushed through the kitchen door to subdue the fire before the entire house went up in flames. They were quickly joined by an ambulance screeching up to the curb. A medic clothed in black pants and a light blue shirt jumped out and immediately ran over to the trio standing in the grass.

"Where's your injured friend?" he asked without preamble, his eyes locking onto Elena.

"Wh-what?" she stammered, confused.

"The dispatcher said the young woman who called was distraught about a friend who'd been injured in the fire," he explained, looking between Alaric and Damon. "Is he still inside? Miss?" he prompted gently when she didn't answer.

"I'm right here," Alaric intervened when Elena remained silent, assuming they were talking about him.

The medic eyed him skeptically. "You don't look hurt..."

"I'm not," Ric confirmed.

"Then why did-" the medic began.

"I...I guess I overreacted," Elena explained quickly, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "It all happened so fast, there was so much smoke and the flames were so big, it looked like he was really hurt, but I guess I was wrong. It…it must have been the light."

"She _does_ have a tendency to overreact," Damon offered helpfully, smirking at Elena.

"Are you sure everyone is okay?" the medic pressed, looking between them.

"We're all fine," Damon sighed, annoyance creeping into his tone at the man's insistence. "Why don't you go help someone who actually needs it?"

"Damon!" Elena scolded, taking the medic's arm and leading him away. "Don't mind him, he has a tendency to be an ass," she smirked inwardly, knowing full well that Damon would have no trouble hearing her despite how quietly she spoke.

"We really appreciate you coming so quickly. I'm sorry my overreaction made it necessary," she thanked him sincerely as they reached the curb.

"Just doing our job, miss," he said with a friendly smile. "Better safe than sorry. It's always nice when we're not needed after all."

"I can imagine," Elena responded, relieved that he didn't seem to mind. "I suppose I ought to let you wrap it up here," she added, glancing at the other medics. "Thank you again."

"Have a good evening," he replied before heading back to the ambulance.

Elena turned back towards the house just as Jeremy ran up.

"Elena?" he asked, stopping beside her. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Jeremy!" Elena exclaimed, wrapping her brother in a quick hug. "I'm fine. Everyone is fine…well, now we are, at least. Ric got burned pretty badly, but Damon gave him some blood right away," she explained in whisper. "I'm not sure what he was doing, but the oven caught fire."

"Woah," Jeremy exhaled sharply, looking towards the house before looking down at his sister, concern and relief mixed in his eyes. "I'm just glad you're both okay."

"Me too," Elena agreed with a small smile.

"How bad is the damage?"

"I'm not sure," Elena admitted, glancing over to where a firefighter had joined Alaric and Damon, the three were talking rather animatedly. "Looks like maybe we're about to find out."

They reached Damon just as Alaric walked away with the firefighter, cell phone in hand, already talking.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, casting a sideways glance at Alaric.

"Ric went to call the insurance company while Mr. Fireman is still here to back him up and sweet talk them if need be," Damon explained, his eyes trained on Ric, undoubtedly listening in on the conversation.

"How bad is it?" Elena queried warily, her deep brown eyes filled with worry.

"Well, as you can see, the house is still standing," Damon joked, exaggeratingly waving his hand in the direction of the house. His expression became more serious as he continued, "Really though, it's fine. It sounds like the fire itself stayed in the kitchen. You called for help fast enough that they were able to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the house."

Jeremy opened his mouth to ask for more details but stopped, turning his attention to Ric as he nodded to the firefighter and walked back towards them, still talking on the phone.

"I understand, thank you," Ric said with a sigh as he reached them, glaring at his cell phone as he ended the call.

Grimacing, he turned to Jeremy and Elena. "How do you two feel about spending the holidays at a hotel?"

"Is it really that bad?" Jeremy asked.

"They're basically going to have to redo the entire kitchen. That alone will take a few weeks. Add in all the smoke damage and cleaning they'll have to do, we'll be lucky to be back in to welcome the New Year," Ric sighed, rubbing his temple.

"I guess there's really not a lot of choice then," Elena said dejectedly. "We'll just have to deal with it."

"I'm really sorry, you two," Ric apologized, looking between the two orphaned siblings who were depending on him as the last remaining parental figure in their lives. "I screwed up big time. I had no idea it was going to catch fire like that."

"Even still," Damon interjected sarcastically, "Any idiot knows better than to throw water on a grease fire. It's like, Cooking 101."

"It didn't even occur to me that it could be a grease fire," Alaric defended himself. "I was using one of those flavor bag things, there shouldn't have been any grease."

"What were you trying to make exactly?" Damon asked, his eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"Thanksgiving turkey," Ric mumbled.

"What?" Elena asked, surprise evident in her voice.

"Um, Ric," Damon began in a patronizing tone, "It's only Tuesday. I hate to break it to you, teacher, but Thanksgiving is and always has been celebrated on a Thursday. Trust me, I was around when Lincoln first declared it a national holiday."

"I'm well aware of that, Damon, thank you," Ric rolled his eyes. "It's just, well, I've never actually made a turkey before and I wanted to practice. This is going to be our first holiday without..." he trailed off, a slight tremor to his voice. "I just wanted to make sure it was special."

Elena couldn't help the single errant tear that fell from her lashes as she reached out and put her hand on Ric's arm. "It will be, Ric. It will be special because we'll all be together."

"Yeah, man," Jeremy added, looking a little misty-eyed himself. "It doesn't matter where we are. We're family."

A genuine smile softened Ric's features as he thought, for what had to be the millionth time, how resilient these two kids were in the face of the tremendous heartache they had suffered in their young lives. So much loss, so much pain, yet they still managed to live, to love. He wished he had even a fraction of their strength. "I just wish it didn't have to be in a hotel."

"There are other options besides a hotel," Damon pointed out nonchalantly.

"Like what?" Alaric retorted.

Damon only just resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "I happen to live in a _boarding_ house. You know, it's a place with plenty of empty rooms just sitting around gathering dust most of the time?"

Ric's eyebrow raised in surprise. "You would take the three of us in, just like that?"

"Sure," Damon shrugged. "Why not?"

"For over a month?" Ric asked incredulously.

"Hmm, you're right, that _is_ a long time for house guests. That would mean you'd all be very, very grateful to me…" he mused, his crystal blue eyes sparkling like glaciers in the sun. He grinned mischievously. "You know, you could just owe me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Elena asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I don't know, I'll have to think long and hard about that," Damon winked, waggling his eyebrows playfully at her. "But you'll be the first to know once I come up with something."

"Maybe we should just stay at a hotel…" Ric suggested.

Elena shook her head but decided to ignore Damon's suggestive remark. "What about the holidays, Damon?" she asked. "We'd be there for Thanksgiving and Christmas, maybe even New Year's."

"Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I'm planning a smashing New Year's Eve party? I even invited Klaus to be the guest of honor!" Damon countered, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice. "Seriously, it's not like I've got any grand plans, Elena. Been there, done that, really not a big deal these days."

"I don't know," Elena said hesitantly. "I know the holidays clearly aren't a big deal for you…but they're kind of important to me."

"You have no idea," Jeremy muttered under his breath, earning himself a smirk from Damon and a glare from his sister.

"It's going to be hard enough this year without Jen-," Elena trailed off, wincing at the look on Alaric's face, and quickly amended, "Without everyone, and not being in our house…"

"Look," Damon said softly, looking deep into her soulful brown eyes, his heart clenching at the pain he found there. "Just because the holidays haven't really been at the top of my to do list doesn't mean I don't like them. We can do whatever you want to celebrate."

Elena thought about that for a few seconds.

"Anything?" She peered up at him hopefully.

"Careful, man," Jeremy warned.

Damon glanced at Jeremy before looking back to Elena and boldly confirming, "Anything you want. Tell you what, let's start with a real Thanksgiving feast on Thursday."

"Uh, maybe that's not such a good idea, considering…" Ric trailed off somewhat sheepishly.

Damon stared at Ric as if he'd grown three heads. "Seriously? Do you think I'm actually going to let you anywhere near my kitchen?"

Ric shrugged, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"It sounds wonderful, Damon," Elena grabbed his hand, attempting to distract him from teasing Ric. His eyes immediately flashed back to hers, the intensity of his gaze making her breath catch in her throat. She quickly dropped his hand, reaching up to twist a strand of her hair around her finger. "Thank you."

"Jeremy, what do you think?" Alaric broke the suddenly heavy silence.

"Sounds good to me," Jeremy responded with a smile. "As long as we're together, I don't really care where we are. And Damon's a great cook. Besides, the boarding house seems like a pretty cool place to spend the holidays."

"I guess we're agreed then," Damon concluded, clapping his hands once. "Go get packed."

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><p>Quick note: I hope you liked the beginning...this sets the stage for the rest of the story. And honestly, I had no idea Ric was going to try to burn down the entire house, I just let him in the kitchen (unsupervised), and it got <em>way<em> out of hand. (although it works out nicely for us!)


	2. Exploration & Discovery

Author's Note:

This is slightly later than I'd planned on posting, but that's sometimes how it goes. I hope you enjoy this. I'm busy working on the next chapter and hope to have that up within the week as well. I have a fairly good idea where I'm headed with this story, at least for a while. A HUGE thank you to my fabulous beta, 2serendipity. Words cannot even begin to describe your degree of awesomeness, my friend. I do so enjoy our emails and our wonderful IM chats and brainstorming sessions. ;)

I definitely understand now why so many authors specifically ask readers to read and review, not just add alerts. While it's incredibly exciting to get email notifications of story alerts and favorites, it is mildly frustrating not to get actual feedback. So, if you could take a moment to let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it.

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><p>Elena awoke to the scent of something utterly delightful, though in her sleepy state she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She stretched her muscles, burrowing beneath the soft, downy white comforter pillowed above her as she rubbed the last traces of sleep from her eyes. She looked lazily around the spacious guest room in which she'd taken up residence at the boarding house, her eyes taking in the rich wood paneling that gave it a feeling of classic elegance. It fit her perfectly, and she almost fancied herself in a different era. The boarding house must have played host to so many different people over the decades, each with their own tale to tell. She marveled at the many hidden and forgotten stories this room, indeed the entire boarding house, must have to tell, if only one knew how to listen.<p>

Damon had initially pointed her in the direction of the stairs up to Stefan's attic room while showing Ric and Jeremy to their rooms on the second floor, but after a sleepless first night there, she'd quietly asked Damon if she could have another room. He'd raised his eyebrow at her suggestively, but thankfully hadn't asked any questions as he helped her move her things into this room on the second floor at the opposite end of the hall. Though, come to think of it, his lack of questions and teasing might have been born of self-preservation due to her volatile mood at the time.

She'd meant what she said about having to let Stefan go, and sleeping in his room didn't lend itself to moving on. She'd spent the entire first night restlessly tossing and turning, before finally falling into a fitful sleep just before dawn and waking not much later. As a result, she had been cranky and short of temper most of Wednesday, snapping at just about everyone and everything, including Damon, who'd taken it with a smirk and threatened to ground her if she didn't behave herself. Despite her grouchy mood, she had no doubt that Damon would throw her over his shoulder and drop her in the cellar if she gave him enough reason to, so she'd lifted her chin defiantly and glared at him, but wisely remained silent before stomping away.

It was in a brief moment of calm later, that she'd asked him for another room. As soon as he left her alone in her new room, Elena had finally conceded defeat and crawled into the deliciously soft bed. Ric had cautiously come upstairs in search of her a few hours later and found her curled up in bed, sound asleep. He paused in the doorway a moment as he considered waking her, but thought better of it and went back downstairs after quietly shutting the door. Damon and Jeremy had laughed but wholeheartedly agreed with his decision to let sleeping beasts lie when he explained Elena's absence at dinner.

As Elena's thoughts drifted through the previous day, she couldn't help but wince at how cranky she knew she had been. She hoped that everyone would let her behavior slide and chalk it up to stress and extreme fatigue. Her stomach growled hungrily as the tantalizing scent that had awoken her got even stronger. She pushed the covers back and slid out of the warm bed, padding her way softly to the door and down the stairs. She followed the mouthwatering scent to the kitchen and paused to take in Damon's strong, muscular frame as he moved masterfully through the kitchen, a dishtowel flung carelessly over his shoulder. Her eyes caught on a tray filled with pancakes, eggs, bacon and berries and she licked her lips appreciatively.

"Aha! Sleeping Beauty is finally awake…or are you still channeling the Beast?" Damon joked, turning to smirk at her as she hovered in the doorway.

"Ha ha," Elena scoffed at his jest, "And good morning to you too, Damon."

"Are you sure it's a _good_ morning?" Damon questioned mock seriously, peering down at her, admiring the way her thin tank top crept up just enough above her pajama pants to reveal a tiny sliver of her olive skin.

Elena's stomach growled loudly in response and her hand flew to her waist as she laughed, her cheeks turning pink.

"Well," Damon chuckled. "I suppose that answers my next question. Have a seat," he gestured to the table, setting the tray in front of her as she sank into the chair he pulled out for her. "I was just getting ready to bring this up to you."

"You were going to bring me breakfast in bed?" Elena asked incredulously, her eyes lighting up as she looked at him.

"Well, I thought you might be a teensy bit hungry seeing as Ric was too chicken to wake you up for dinner last night," Damon brought over a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he looked down at her. "Not that I blame him, of course. You were in one hell of a mood yesterday."

Elena's cheeks flushed even harder as she took the proffered glass. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"It would be a complete understatement, of course," Damon prompted, sitting down next to her at the table. "Anything particular you care to share?"

"No," Elena gulped, "I was just really tired."

"Hmm," Damon narrowed his eyes in thought, "If you're sure. I could have sworn it had something to do with your musical bedrooms request. You kept _me_ awake the other night with how much you _weren't_ sleeping, whereas last night you barely moved at all." He smirked before continuing cheekily, "I nearly came to check on you to make sure you were still breathing."

"We both know very well that if you could hear me moving around from the top of the other end of the house, you'd certainly be able to tell if I wasn't breathing in the room above you," Elena countered sassily. "But I _did_ sleep much better last night," she admitted.

"I know," Damon waggled his eyes at her.

"This is delicious," Elena offered as she dug her fork in for another bite, hoping he'd let her change the subject. She really didn't want to have to explain (or even think about, really) why it was that she'd slept so well. It would just lead to conversations about things that she had been thus far successfully avoiding. Things that she'd rather not discuss with Damon of all people. "Thank you so much, this really is wonderful."

"Why, you're quite welcome, Miss Gilbert," Damon stood and touched an imaginary cap at her. "Wait till you try my Thanksgiving feast later." He winked at her as he got up and walked over to open the doors of the stainless steel refrigerator.

"Where are Jeremy and Ric anyway?" Elena asked, swallowing another mouthful of pancakes as Damon pulled out a large roasting pan covered in foil.

"Playing Mario Cart in the den," he replied distractedly as he slid the turkey into the oven.

"You mean you aren't going to make Ric help with Thanksgiving dinner?" Elena asked innocently, a gleam in her eyes.

"Ric is so _not_ allowed in my kitchen," Damon straightened up, a firm, almost defiant look on his face.

Elena lasted about ten seconds before she burst into laughter at the sternness in Damon's tone. "Well," she managed to say between giggles, "What about me? What can I do to help?"

"_You_ can finish your breakfast," Damon pointed at her half full plate.

"Working on it," Elena said around a mouthful of berries. "But I meant what can I do to help you with this Thanksgiving feast I keep hearing so much about?"

Damon paused, looking down at her thoughtfully. "You just make sure that your little attitude from yesterday stays away, and we'll call it even. I'd hate to have to lock you up in the cellar until the nice Elena decides to reemerge. Trust me, you don't want to miss dinner tonight."

Elena shook her head as he confirmed her thoughts from yesterday after he threatened to ground her. "Damon, you have to let me help you with dinner," she argued. "You can't take us in _and_ make Thanksgiving dinner all on your own."

"Of course I can," Damon responded. "My house, my rules. Now finish your breakfast and get out of my kitchen."

"You're insufferable," Elena muttered under her breath as she speared another bite of pancakes with her fork. "What am I supposed to do all day if you don't let me help you cook?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, after all, you got through yesterday just fine without me babysitting you." Damon said, annoyance beginning to creep into his tone.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter, Damon; I just want to help you cook."

"You not needing a babysitter is open for debate," Damon countered seriously. "Tell you what," he said quickly, cutting off her indignant response and the argument that would undoubtedly follow it, "You find something to occupy your time today and let me cook in peace, and I'll help you make Christmas cookies."

"I'll even let you blare Christmas music to your heart's content," he added when she gave him a skeptical look.

"You'll let me bake cookies but you won't let me help you with Thanksgiving dinner?" she pressed, determined to either get her way or a straight answer.

"Elena," Damon sighed, running a hand through his raven hair. "Would you _please_ just let me do this?" His voice was soft as he unleashing the full brilliance of his icy blue eyes as he reached out to caress her cheek.

Her intentions all but forgotten as she got lost in the untouched depths of his eyes, Elena found herself unconsciously leaning into his palm against her cheek, her eyes fluttering closed. The sound of approaching voices snapped her back to reality, and she sat up straighter as Damon dropped his hand to his side.

"Fine," she breathed, just as Ric and Jeremy walked companionably into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Jeremy greeted her enthusiastically as Alaric went to the fridge and pulled out a couple of sodas. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Elena smiled at his eagerness. "Happy Thanksgiving, Jer. Are you and Ric having a good time?"

"He keeps kicking my butt," Ric whined, handing one of the drinks to Jeremy.

"It's not my fault you can't drive straight to save your life," Jeremy teased.

"It's that damn controller!" Ric protested. "Not to mention you keep launching those banana bomb things that make me spin out."

"You're supposed to go around those things, Ric," Damon said, shaking his head patronizingly while both Elena and Jeremy snickered.

"Alright, Jeremy, time for a rematch," Alaric challenged in a serious tone.

"If you don't mind losing…again," Jeremy joked as they disappeared out of the kitchen, sodas in hand, and Ric made as if to slap Jeremy's head. They laughed as they turned the corner.

Elena smiled and shook her head in amusement at their easy camaraderie as she finished the last bite of her breakfast and washed it down with the remains of her juice. She picked up her dishes, took them over to the sink and began to wash them.

"Nope!" Damon said as he came up behind her, plucking the sponge from her fingers and pointing towards the door through which the others had just disappeared. "You've had your breakfast, now get out of my kitchen."

Elena spun around to face him, swallowing slightly at their sudden close proximity. "But.."

"But nothing," Damon scolded, taking her by the shoulders and steering her to the door. "A deal's a deal."

"Damon-" she began, but stopped when Damon pressed his finger lightly against her lips. She glared up at him in response.

"No arguing," he said evenly, "We made a dea- Did you just _bite_ me?" he exclaimed incredulously, pulling his finger back quickly from her mouth and looking at her in astonishment. "Tell me you did not just bite me."

Elena remained silent as she looked up at Damon with her big brown eyes, a grin spreading across her face. "Really? You're shocked? Just cause you're a vampire doesn't mean you're the only one who can bite."

"Seriously?" Damon asked in amusement. "Just remember, Elena, that _you_ started it."

Before she could ask what he meant, Elena found herself pushed (albeit gently) out of the kitchen, turning to find the swinging door now closed. She could hear Damon working on the other side, softly humming a wordless melody. She debated barging back in, but decided that her time would be better spent doing other things. She didn't understand why Damon was so emphatic about making dinner solo, but she knew that it would be an exercise in futility to try and change his mind at this point.

Making up her mind to enjoy the freedom of the day, Elena went back upstairs to get dressed. After a quick shower, Elena slipped into a clean pair of dark blue sweats, a simple black tank top and a pair of warm, fuzzy socks that went nearly to her knees. After all, she justified to herself, it was a holiday and they weren't going anywhere, she might as well be comfortable. She toweled off her dripping hair and left it to air dry.

She had been massaging the shampoo into her hair when it had occurred to her that she'd never actually had an official tour of the boarding house, and exploring its hidden nooks and crannies would be a wonderful way to spend the day since she'd been effectively banned from helping in the kitchen.

With thoughts of hidden treasure and exciting stories filling her head, she stepped into the hallway, grabbing her sweatshirt on the way out, just in case, before making her way down to the end nearest the stairs to Stefan's room to begin the exploration. She spent the next few hours opening every door on the second floor and scouring each room that lay beyond, mostly bedrooms, poking about in dressers and vanities, browsing through closets. While she found a vast array of miscellaneous items, she was disappointed at the lack of any kind of story to attach them to, no history, no intrigue, just some forgotten things lying about in dusty, unused rooms. She had nearly determined to abandon her quest and plopped down dejectedly onto an old fashioned bench in a recessed alcove near her room.

She leaned her head back against the wall, only to hear a hollow thud. She paused, then lifted her head and let it fall back a second time, and was met with the same hollow sounding thud. She turned to examine the wall behind her, suddenly convinced that it was hiding another room. She ran her hands along the tapestry hanging there, her eyes opening wide when she encountered a slight bump behind the fabric. She carefully pulled back the tapestry to reveal an old door handle, creatively fashioned to blend into the wallpaper behind the hanging. Excitement sent tingles to her belly and she peered down the hallway to make sure that she was alone before reaching out to cautiously turn the handle. To her surprise, it turned quite easily beneath her fingers and the door swung inwards, revealing a set of dusty wooden stairs.

Without hesitation, Elena climbed over the bench and slipped behind the tapestry, through the hidden door. She let the tapestry fall back into place behind her and she carefully shut the door before turning around.

'It doesn't look like anyone has been here in decades,' she thought to herself when dust swirled up from beneath her feet as she ascended the old stairs. She emerged at the top of the stairs and found herself at the beginning of a dim hallway with three doors on either side. She carefully peered into two of the rooms, determining that she had stumbled upon the old servants' quarters from long ago. They were simply adorned, most with merely a bed and a chair, much plainer than the lavish guest rooms downstairs.

She continued down the short hallway to where it seemed to open up just beyond. She gasped as she stepped beyond the hallway into a room filled with trunks, boxes and furniture, many items covered in dusty white sheets. Now _here_ was the kind of thing she had been looking for. She eagerly stepped further into the space, trying to decide where to start.

She finally approached an old wardrobe and pulled the doors open, a sound of excitement escaping her lips as she drank in the beautiful period dresses, knowing instantly that they were authentic, the real deal from ages past. Her eyes alighted on a deep blue gown, a shade that reminded her of the dress she'd worn for the Miss Mystic Pageant that seemed so long ago. She skimmed her fingers along the luxurious silken fabric, wondering how many dances and parties it must have seen. An image of herself dressed in the gown descending the boarding house stairs played through her mind, Damon waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs like he had that day at the pageant when Stefan went missing, that same intense look burning in his eyes as they sought out hers… She snatched her hand back, dropping the fabric as if she'd been burned, quickly shutting the wardrobe doors and turning to the rest of the attic.

She must have spent hours uncovering antique furniture and sifting through boxes of old toys, jewelry, hats and clothing. She found newsprint from decades past, and even came across several pictures with people she'd never seen before. She completely lost track of time and had barely noticed the light fading from the attic window, the golden hues giving the room a sepia toned look, much like the worn old pictures she had found.

She turned to several large, expensive looking trunks tucked away in the far corner. After fiddling with the lock of the smallest one, it sprung open and Elena gasped in amazement. It was filled with Christmas decorations, spun glass and colored paper ornaments, old strings of popcorn, tinsel and what appeared to be old fashioned candle holders to light the tree. She quickly opened the trunks beside it to find even more decorations. These were filled with more modern decorations, strings and strings of lights, garlands, elegant European glass ornaments and multi-colored glass ball shaped ornaments, frosted pinecones, bells, red velvet bows and even rolls of old wrapping paper. In the last trunk, she also found several old vinyl records. Grabbing one curiously, she took it over to the old hand cranked phonograph she'd uncovered earlier and put it in, gently moving the needle to the edge of the record, just as her father had taught her when she was little. The first strains of _Silent Night_ came out, filling the attic with its soft, delicate melody. She was so engrossed that she didn't even know she was no longer alone until she heard Damon's voice right behind her.

"Dinner's ready," he said quietly.

Elena jumped, nearly knocking over the fragile machine in her surprise. "Damon!" she exclaimed, whirling around to face him, a guilty look on her face. "I didn't mean to…"

Damon placed his hands gently on her shoulders, looking down at her. "It's okay, Elena. Did you really think I didn't know what you were up to?"

"I-I guess not," Elena stammered, both surprised and relieved that he didn't seem to be mad at her for snooping around.

"You weren't exactly stealthy in your exploration of the guest rooms," Damon teased. "I knew that sooner or later you'd find the door to the attic."

"Why do you keep it hidden like that?" Elena asked curiously, wondering what else she might have missed hidden up here.

"It's always been that way," he shrugged in explanation, turning to glance around the attic, which looked much less like a ghost town than the last time he'd been up here. "Find anything you like?"

"Oh, Damon!" Elena exclaimed as she rushed over and dropped down in front of the last set of trunks she'd opened, her excitement returning now that she was absolutely certain that he wasn't angry with her. "Look at all these decorations! Some of them must be a hundred years old."

"Give or take half a century," Damon muttered under his breath.

"They are so beautiful!" Elena gushed, not having heard his comment. She turned to look up at him pleadingly. "Could we put them up? You know, decorate the boarding house for Christmas?"

"I don't know," Damon began skeptically.

"Please, Damon?" she pouted.

"Alright," he relented and was rewarded with the sight of Elena beaming. He'd fully intended to agree all along, but she was absolutely adorable when she pouted and he couldn't resist teasing her. "I'll bring the trunks down after dinner, on the condition that you remember that a lot of these are _very_ old, some of them are older than me."

"I promise to be careful," she vowed solemnly. "I wouldn't want to break one of your favorite things."

"Who said anything about these being my favorite things?" Damon spluttered.

"Believe it or not, but I think you actually _like_ Christmas, Damon," Elena mused, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I think you like it a lot and you are just too worried about your bad boy image to admit it."

"You're delusional," Damon smirked, shaking his head at her. "Come on, dinner's waiting." He reached out to rest his hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her towards the stairs.

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><p>AN: I hope you enjoyed this…I hope you can take a moment to let me know what you thought! The next chapter should be up soon (ideally within the week)


	3. Turkey & Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Author's Note:

Thanks to all who sent me such lovely reviews, I really appreciate hearing your feedback! I hope you enjoy this chapter, there are a few nods to the show, including a nod to one of my favorite scenes. I'll be interested to see if you can pick it out!

And I have to profusely thank 2serendipty for her patient help with this story and for letting me prattle on and on.

Also, I realized this morning that I forgot to mention specifically that this story takes place after 3.9 Homecoming, during that ridiculously long hiatus we suffered through. (though I'm guessing that you've probably more or less figured that out by now)

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><p>"Finally!" Jeremy exclaimed loudly as Elena walked into the dining room about ten minutes later, dressed in dark wash jeans and a dark chocolate colored sweater. She slipped quietly into the chair across the table. "Damon wouldn't let us try <em>anything<em> until you got down here," he sighed theatrically, shooting Damon an annoyed look.

"Oh no," Damon teased mockingly, "How dare I insist that you show some manners by waiting for the lady of the house to join us for Thanksgiving dinner."

Alaric raised his eyebrow slightly at Damon's reference to Elena as the lady of the house, but he opted not to comment on it, turning instead to Jeremy. "He's got a point, you know. Back in his day, the gentlemen would even stand the moment a lady entered the room."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Geez, Rick, you make me sound positively ancient."

"Well…" Ric trailed off, laughing, but he didn't deny it.

"You don't look your age though," Elena soothed, "But your manners are definitely those of an old fashioned Southern gentleman...well, most of the time at least."

Damon turned his gaze to Elena, an indefinable gleam in his eye.

"This dinner is going to be _old fashioned_ by the time we're allowed to eat it," Jeremy grumbled.

"I think somebody's hungry," Elena laughed, "We'd better feed Jer before he gets too grumpy."

"We wouldn't want that," Damon said seriously. "I think we've had just about all the grumpy Gilbert we need for the next month. Sorry, Jeremy," he said, turning to the young man sitting to his right, "Your sister used up the entire cranky quota for the rest of the year."

"Seriously," Jeremy agreed, grinning across the table at Elena whose cheeks were beginning to flush.

"Are we going to eat or what?" Elena asked, trying to divert their attention. "This smells amazing, Damon."

"Well, duh," Damon smirked, "I made it." He turned to Jeremy with a grin, "Now, you may eat."

Jeremy immediately grabbed for the bowl heaped full of garlic mashed potatoes, pausing with a grimace when Ric pointedly cleared his throat. "Oh great! Now what? I'm _starving_!"

Ric looked around the table a little hesitantly. "I was thinking, it might be kind of nice if we went around the table and shared something we're thankful for. After all, it's Thanksgiving…"

"What is this, the Brady Bunch?" Damon retorted, rolling his eyes.

"It's a little cheesy, I know," Ric admitted, "But I think it would be nice."

"I think it's a wonderful idea, Ric," Elena smiled, glancing at Damon as if daring him to object. "Who knows, maybe it'll become our new tradition."

Damon just barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes.

"Sure, man," Jeremy waived his hand, "Whatever it takes so that we get to eat sometime before I die of starvation."

Damon chuckled as he looked to Ric at the opposite end of the table. "And since it was _your_ idea, _you_ get to start!"

Ric nodded, glancing around the table. "Well, I am thankful that the house didn't burn to the ground, and that Damon was gracious enough to take the three of us in for the holidays."

"I'm thankful for this delicious smelling food that we might actually get to eat at some point," Jeremy piped up, hoping to move things along quickly. He hadn't bothered to eat much earlier in the day in preparation for the feast he knew Damon was preparing, and his consequently empty stomach meant that his sole focus was on the overflowing, tantalizing dishes of food that looked like they had just been styled for a magazine photo shoot.

"Jer," Elena chided, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Fine," he sighed heavily, "I'm also thankful for getting to spend some quality time in this awesome house. Seriously," he turned to Damon, "this place is pretty cool."

"Thank you," Damon nodded, before turning to Elena, who was looking expectantly at him, one eyebrow raised. "What? I just said 'thank you' to Jeremy. Your turn."

"That so does not count, Damon." Elena retorted, a no-nonsense look on her face. "What are you _really _thankful for?"

Damon considered her question for a moment, tilting his head slightly. He couldn't very well tell her that what he was really thankful for was Elena herself. His mind raced for an appropriate answer before he finally came up with something that was both true and acceptable. "I am thankful for my friends," he said, lifting his glass towards each of them in turn. "Whether or not I care to admit it, I do like you guys…most of the time…" he trailed off, unable to leave it quite as sappy as it initially sounded.

"Your turn, Elena," Jeremy encouraged as they all looked to her to complete their round of thanks.

Her eyes turned glassy for a moment, as if she was somewhere far away, and indeed she was. Forcing her mind back to the present, she said softly, "I'm thankful for our family. It's so different and not what anyone would expect, but it's good and I am truly thankful for it." She paused, taking in the sudden quiet that had engulfed the room before reaching for her glass and lifting it up in a toast. "Here's to family and traditions, old and new."

The others followed suit and raised their glasses to join her in the toast, the soft tinkling of crystal floating through the air.

"Let's eat!" Damon declared, laughing when Jeremy immediately started piling his plate high with hearty samples of every dish on the table.

Dinner was a lighthearted affair as they stuffed themselves with the delicious things Damon had prepared; turkey roasted to a perfect golden brown, mashed potatoes smothered in homemade gravy, stuffing, freshly baked rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, fresh cranberry sauce and a sweet, pink concoction that he told them was ambrosia.

"Mmm," Elena sighed, leaning back in her chair as she finished the last mouthful of her second helping, closing her eyes slightly in enjoyment.

"I'll second that," Ric agreed, "Way better than what I would have pulled off."

"And the kitchen didn't even burn down in the process," Damon joked, making Alaric wince.

"I'm not going to live that one down, am I?" he asked.

"Not anytime soon," Jeremy supplied, his words slightly muffled by his mouth full of food. He had easily out-eaten the rest of them combined and was finally starting to slow down.

Damon looked at Jeremy in amusement before remarking offhandedly, "I hope you left some room for dessert."

"What?" Jeremy exclaimed, dropping his fork. "You didn't tell me there was dessert!"

"What kind of Thanksgiving feast would this be if there wasn't any dessert?" Damon asked incredulously. "That would just be shameful."

"You should have reminded me of that three helpings ago," Jeremy frowned, looking at his half empty plate.

"Well, you inhaled those so fast I'm sure Damon barely saw you eat them, even with his supernatural vision," Alaric teased.

"I can't help that it's delicious and I was _starving_," Jeremy defended himself.

"Clearly our manners discussion didn't stick," Alaric mused mock-regretfully, but his eyes were twinkling with mirth at the increasingly flustered teenager.

Elena smiled softly as she gazed around at the three men sitting around her, absorbing their playful banter.

"It's fine," Damon shrugged nonchalantly, "I didn't plan on us eating dessert right away anyways."

"Does that mean it's time to bring down the trunks?" Elena asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Damon.

"What trunks?" Jeremy asked, his sister's obvious excitement distracting him from the topic of dessert for a moment. She hid it pretty well most of the time, but he knew her and she didn't really do excited much these days. That alone was enough to pique his interest in the sudden change in topics.

"When I kicked her out of the kitchen this morning, she decided to go snooping around. She found the old stairs up to the attic and spent the afternoon tearing it apart, going through everything she could get her curious little hands on," Damon told Jeremy, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"I found three old trunks up there, filled with the most beautiful Christmas decorations I've ever seen," Elena gushed animatedly, deciding to ignore Damon's obvious attempt to rile her. She was beginning to get into the holiday spirit and was determined to hold on to it as long as she could. "There's some newer stuff too, but some of it is over a hundred years old. Damon said we could use them to decorate the boarding house."

"You realize you're just fueling her addiction, right?" Jeremy asked Damon lightly.

"Maybe," Damon acknowledged with a shrug, "I've yet to experience it myself. Besides, if she gets out of hand we can always toss her in the cellar."

"Maybe that's what we should have done with her yesterday," Alaric joked, winking at Elena.

"Don't think it didn't cross my mind," Damon agreed seriously. "But she beat me to it when she put herself to bed." Jeremy and Alaric both laughed.

"When did this turn into pick on Elena night?" Elena frowned at them. She'd thought all the jokes about her cranky behavior the day before were over.

"Aww, come on, Elena," Jeremy tried to soothe her ruffled feathers. "We're just teasing is all. You know I secretly love your crazy holiday obsession; it's endearing."

"What started it anyways?" Ric asked curiously. "Jeremy keeps referencing you and the holidays, but I've yet to hear the story."

"It all star-" Jeremy began, but Elena cut him off.

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted him quickly, brushing her hair behind her ear and standing to fill her arms with several empty food bowls. "Let's get this cleaned up, shall we?"

Jeremy just shrugged in confusion while Ric and Damon exchanged a look as Elena disappeared into the kitchen. As if by unspoken agreement, they abandoned the subject, started grabbing bowls and dishes and headed to the kitchen.

Ric and Jeremy soon disappeared into the den, leaving Damon and Elena alone in the kitchen.

"Thank you, Damon," Elena said sincerely as she rinsed off a plate and slid it into the dishwasher.

"No problem," Damon replied easily as he put the leftover food away.

"No, really," Elena pressed earnestly, looking up at him. "You're really going above and beyond with everything. You didn't have to do this. So thank you."

"You're welcome," Damon replied quietly, looking down at her, their eyes locking for an infinite moment before Elena turned and continued loading the dishwasher. Damon watched her for a few moments longer before turning to put the last of the food into the refrigerator.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said softly, disappearing from the kitchen.

Elena continued to work in silence, lost in the maze of her own mind. She jumped slightly when Damon reappeared beside her minutes later.

"Why don't you let me finish up in here," he suggested, reaching over to take the bowl she was holding. "The trunks are in the parlor, waiting for you."

"Are you sure?" Elena queried, looking around the kitchen at the remaining pile of dishes. "I don't mind helping. I mean, you already did all the cooking, you shouldn't have to do all the cleaning up too."

"Don't make me kick you out of the kitchen again," he threatened lightly.

"Aren't you afraid I'll go snooping around again?" Elena lifted her eyebrow at him as he stepped closer to her. She took a step backwards and bumped into the counter, her eyes wide as she looked up into his crystal blue gaze.

"You don't scare me," he breathed, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His eyes searched hers, and she swore it felt like he was reading a piece of her soul. He blinked after a moment, releasing her from the intensity of his gaze. "Go on, go get started with your decorating."

Elena nodded, unable to find her voice just yet. She hurried from the kitchen, leaving Damon to finish cleaning up alone.

Damon looked after her as she disappeared from view, heading towards the parlor and the promised trunks. He was glad that she'd found something normal to capture her attention, but truth be told, he didn't quite understand her fascination with all of it. Sure, there was some cool stuff in those trunks, especially for a history buff like Ric, but he'd never had the impression that Elena was overly concerned with things like that. She lived very much in the present, looking steadfastly forward, rarely back – at least not like this.

But if he was honest, he couldn't blame her for not wanting to dwell on it, given what had happened in her life just before his brother showed up and everything that had happened after. Some days he was impressed that she even managed to get out of bed, let alone get through the day _and_ manage to cause as much trouble as she frequently did.

He shook his head slightly to dispel his train of thought as he quickly finished cleaning the kitchen. He tossed the dishtowel onto the counter and headed towards the parlor to see how Elena was faring in her decorating endeavors.

His lips twitched in amusement as he took in the decorations laid out carefully over every available surface in the room, Elena nowhere to be seen. There were lights on the sofa, glittering garlands on the chairs and ornaments in every color, shape and form laid out on the table. He looked around briefly before spotting Elena upstairs trying to hang a pre- lit and fully decorated green garland from the railing overlooking the parlor. He took a few quick steps and leaped up to the small ledge along the outside of the bannister. Elena jumped, startled by his sudden appearance by her side, and the garland slipped from her fingers. Damon's hand shot out and caught it before it could plummet to the floor below.

"Need some help?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her in that way that made her breath catch.

"If you want," she said a little breathlessly, reaching out to fasten the garland as he held it in place against the dark wood railing. It only took a few minutes to get it situated with Damon's help. Elena glanced up at him from beneath her lashes as she secured the last fastener into place. "So, are you trying to set some kind of record for how many times you can make me jump in a single day?"

"Not intentionally," Damon said with a chuckle, his eyes twinkling. "But it _is_ pretty entertaining. You're not usually this jumpy."

Elena was spared the trouble of answering when Jeremy walked into the room below and interrupted them.

"Is it time for dessert yet?" he asked hopefully, looking up to where Damon and Elena were still standing along the second floor railing. He seemed completely un-phased when Damon dropped lightly to the ground in front of him.

"Well, since you ate all your dinner and then some…" Damon trailed off with a smirk as Elena came downstairs and joined them in the middle of the parlor.

"I'd say he's earned his dessert," Elena agreed, smiling up at Jeremy before turning towards the kitchen to help serve dessert.

Ric joined them and they were soon settled on the couches in the parlor in front of the fire, each with a generous helping of fresh pumpkin pie, still warm from the oven, topped with homemade vanilla ice cream. Conversation flowed easily, and in a way that seemed to belie the recent and even the current supernatural drama permeating their lives, and it was well past midnight before Elena's yawns prompted a general exodus to bed for everyone, calls of Happy Thanksgiving echoing through the house.

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><p>AN: I hope you enjoyed the first of the holidays. I would be so obliged if you'd take a minute to let me know what you thought!


	4. Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Author's Note:

I must apologize for the incredible delay on posting this chapter; I never intended for it to take so long. It was actually going along quite well, that is, until Elena decided to be difficult and wouldn't let me know how she was going to react to something Caroline says. (Caroline of course, has been a complete doll to work with, I'm so excited to have a chance to write her!) Then life got even more crazy busy than usual and left me with no time to try and figure out Elena's deal, and thus, here we are a month later. I'd promise it won't happen again, but then it inevitably would, so I will just promise to do my best with consistent updates that aren't a month apart.

I do have a fairly good idea of where this story is headed, thanks to marvelous chats and emails with my amazing friend and beta 2serendipity. (PS – if you haven't read her story Shadowdancing, do yourself a favor and check it out. It's wonderful fun, absolutely magical. And she just wrote a new one shot about Damon's past that plays off of the newest preview for March – incredibly well written, because she's awesome like that!) Thank you SO much for helping me and encouraging me with this story, my friend. 3

And a big thank you to all who have taken the time to leave me your thoughts, I really appreciate hearing from you! I of course love getting the story, favorite and author alerts, but it's always extra awesome to hear what you think about the story itself.

Enough of my prattling…here's the next chapter!

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><p>Elena sighed as she walked towards her car after school Friday afternoon, shivering slightly and pulling her coat more tightly around her. The weather had turned frosty after Thanksgiving and it didn't seem like it planned to ease up anytime soon.<p>

"Elena, wait up!"

Elena turned to see Caroline hurrying across the parking lot to catch up, her golden curls bobbing beneath her stylish white knit hat. She reached her a moment later and linked her arm through Elena's.

"Hey, Care, what's up?" Elena asked as they continued walking.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Caroline asked. "I need a shopping partner and I haven't seen you in _ages,_" she whined, jutting out her lower lip.

Elena laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "Nothing, actually. Shopping, it is then. I was thinking about knocking out all of my Christmas shopping this weekend before the crowds get any worse than they probably already are."

"Wonderful!" Caroline bubbled with enthusiasm. "I'll pick you up at the boarding house at 10?"

"Sounds good," Elena agreed as they reached her car. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Have a fun night!" Caroline winked as Elena climbed into her car, "And be sure to tell Damon I said hello."

"Ha ha," Elena rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Caroline."

Caroline just smiled at her and skipped over to her own car as Elena pulled away and headed for the boarding house.

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><p>Elena woke up late the next morning and was rushing to finish getting ready when she heard Caroline's cheerful voice floating up the stairs.<p>

"Are you ready for a girls' only shopping day?" Caroline asked eagerly as she waltzed into the room. She paused, tilting her head critically as Elena slipped a forest green sweater on over her tank top, her feet still clad in only her socks. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"No," Elena assured her as she perched on the edge of her bed to slip on her boots. "I just overslept."

"Oh really?" Caroline said, a wicked gleam entering her eyes. "And what, pray tell, kept you up so late that you overslept? A midnight rendezvous perhaps?"

Elena flushed slightly as she stood up to grab her coat and purse. "No, Caroline, of course not!" she exclaimed. "I was finishing decorating downstairs and completely lost track of time."

"Mmhmm," Caroline murmured, herding Elena towards the door. "And I'm sure you were decorating all by yourself, right?"

"Well, Damon was helping me a little," Elena admitted quietly as they reached the top of the stairs and headed down.

Caroline just grinned in response as Damon stepped into view near the front door, a tumbler of dark scarlet liquid in his hand.

"And where are you ladies off to so early?" he inquired suspiciously.

"We're going shopping!" Caroline exclaimed, beaming.

"Oh, goody!" Damon exclaimed in mock excitement, "Can I come too? And then we can get pedicures and eat frozen yogurt!"

Elena giggled at the mental image his words invoked.

"Just for that, I'm not getting you a Christmas present," Caroline threatened, rolling her eyes as she turned to Elena. "Though, on second thought, maybe we should get him a spa package, hmm? I think he'd look so very pretty with bright red toenails and a French tip manicure…" she trailed off, raising her eyebrow suggestively.

"You wouldn't dare," Damon said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Caroline challenged, her hand on her hip.

"You give it a try and see if I don't drive a stake through your heart," Damon threatened.

"Yeah right," Caroline scoffed, shaking her head. "If you were going to kill me you'd have done it a long time ago. Admit it, you actually _like_ having me around."

"Oh, sure" Damon replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I just _love_ having you around, because I'm a sucker for life-sized Barbie dolls with a penchant for raiding my blood supply and stealing my booze."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Caroline waived her hand dismissively, "Whether you admit it or not, I know you care. Come on, Elena," she said, grabbing Elena's hand and pulling her to the door. "Let's go! We have a _lot _of shopping to do."

"Have fun, girls," Damon said with a smirk as the door swung closed behind them.

* * *

><p>"Oh, let's duck in here!" Elena said excitedly, pulling Caroline into a specialty art supply store. They'd been at the mall for about an hour and were already laden with several shopping bags. She grabbed a basket and immediately put a set of charcoals into it.<p>

"Jeremy?" Caroline guessed, glancing around the store.

"Yeah," Elena confirmed as she looked around, trying to decide what else to purchase. "I know he hasn't really done much drawing lately, but I thought he might like some new materials. It would give him something else to do…" she trailed off, reaching for a box of pastels.

"You mean it would be something normal and human to distract him?" Caroline prompted softly, reading between the lines.

Elena turned to look at her, sadness seeping into her eyes. "He's so young, Care. I want him to be happy; I want him to enjoy normal, non-supernatural things."

"Says the girl who willingly moved her family in to play house with a vampire," Caroline teased.

"What other choice did I have, Care?" Elena asked. "It's better than spending the holidays in some cheap motel. Besides, it was really nice of Damon to offer; I couldn't very well say no."

"Well, you could have," Caroline mused, "but I doubt he'd have accepted no for an answer."

"Exactly," Elena said strongly. "I know I'm probably a little naive for even believing that Jeremy can still have a normal, teenage life, but I can't help it. I want the best for him. I hate that he's caught up in all of this because of me."

Caroline reached out to rest her hand on Elena's arm. "Elena, listen to me," she said, "You are a great big sister, the best that anyone could ask for. He's so lucky to have you. It's _not_ your fault that Jeremy, or anyone else for that matter, got pulled into this. It was completely out of your control. Honestly, it's probably safer for all of us to be involved anyways. Knowledge is power and all that. But you _have_ to understand that we have all chosen to remain a part of this. We love you, Elena, and we are family. We watch out for each other, that's what families do. Jeremy loves you, Elena, just as much as you love him. You have to let him make his own choices."

Elena looked at her friend, her eyes filling with tears. Before she could say anything, Caroline leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug. "You don't have to bear the weight of the world by yourself, Lena," she whispered, using Elena's childhood nickname, "We're all here to help."

Elena nodded slightly as she hugged Caroline fiercely, taking a deep breath. After a moment, Caroline pulled back, her hands on Elena's shoulders.

"Now," she said with a big smile, "Let's get Jer the best, most normal, non-supernatural art supplies they've got!"

Caroline's bright attitude was contagious, and Elena smiled, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek as they ventured deeper into the store. After much debate, comparison and many trips to different aisles, they ended up with a new sketchbook, stretched canvas in several sizes, charcoals, pastels and watercolors. Elena grabbed a few brushes as they made their way to the register, thinking they'd be perfect for filling Jeremy's stocking.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as they finished paying and were heading to the door with the bags. "We don't have stockings! Ours are still packed at the house and I didn't find any in the trunks that Damon brought down."

"That little boutique near the entrance had some really cute ones. We'll stop there on our way out," Caroline assured her. "Let's try in here," she gestured to the store known for its customized gifts and engravings. "I still need to find something for my mom."

"Do you have any idea what you want to get her?" Elena asked, looking around wide-eyed at the vast selection of gifts.

"I'm not sure," Caroline frowned, wandering through the store. "Usually I get her something practical, that I know she can use…but I…things are different now, better, almost. I kind of want something a little more personal, but I have no idea what." She continued browsing, ghosting her fingers along frames and throws, ornaments and figurines.

"What about –" Elena started to say about ten minutes later, just as Caroline squealed.

"I found it!" Caroline gushed excitedly. "This is it!"

Elena hurried over, eager to see what Caroline had selected. She gasped as she saw the beautiful heart shaped silver pendant dangling from her friend's finger. She reached out to still the swinging heart and get a closer look at it. It had a heart in the center surround by three filigree hearts connected by a simple but elegant scroll pattern, each heart set with a beautiful crystal. It sparkled in the soft light of the store as it hung from its delicate silver chain.

"Oh, Caroline," she gushed, "It's beautiful! Your mom is going to love it!"

"You think so?" Caroline asked, eager for Elena's input.

"Definitely," Elena said, looking up to smile at Caroline. "Are you going to have it inscribed?"

"Yes," Caroline said softly, staring at the necklace. "I was thinking 'Mom, I love you –Caroline', what do you think? Is that too….simple?"

"Oh, Caroline," Elena murmured, her eyes watering, "That's perfect. Absolutely perfect."

Caroline grinned, her own eyes a bit teary. She'd never gotten such a personal gift for her mom, they'd never really been that close, but things had changed recently. Initially she'd thought that being turned had ruined her life, but instead the opposite seemed to be true. She was actually getting to know her mom in ways she never imagined. It was funny to think that it took her dying for them to begin to forge some kind of real mother-daughter relationship. It wasn't strong, by any means, but it was a promising start, and she would take it.

They lucked out because the engraver was on-site and was able to do the inscription right away while they watched, fascinated by the process as he etched Caroline's message into the silver in a beautiful, flowing script. He held it up for Caroline's approval when he had finished and she nodded, her eyes shining. He put it back into its case and slipped it carefully into a soft velvet bag before handing it to Caroline.

"Thank you so much," Caroline said enthusiastically, reaching out to impulsively hug the old man. "My mom is going to love it, thank you!"

He chuckled and waved as Caroline and Elena gathered their bags. "Merry Christmas," he called as they opened the door, the bell jingling. Both girls returned his wishes as they exited the shop.

"I'm starving!" Caroline declared, taking off in the direction of the food court with Elena rushing to keep up with her.

"Um, Care," Elena began carefully as she caught up to Caroline. "You do realize that they don't sell blood bags here…"

Caroline stopped dead in her tracks, turning to look at Elena with her eyebrow lifted. Elena shifted uncomfortably, worried that she'd offended her friend. Just as she was really starting to worry, Caroline burst out laughing, linking her arm through Elena's and continuing towards the food court.

"You should have seen your face, Elena!" she chortled. "I still get cravings for regular food sometimes, you know."

"Really?" Elena asked skeptically.

"Not often, and it's usually just to help subdue the…other cravings," Caroline admitted as they got in line for pizza slices. "Mostly when I'm shopping, but still, sometimes."

The line moved quickly and the girls went to find a table, armed with slices of pepperoni goodness and sodas from the fountain. They set down their plates and unloaded their bags onto the extra chairs before plopping down to indulge in the greasy mall food.

"So," Caroline asked as they started eating, "Where to next? Who do you still need to buy for?"

Elena thought for a moment while she chewed. "I still need to buy the stockings before we leave. But other than that, the only other person I still need to buy for is Damon, and I have _no_ idea what to get him."

"That's easy," Caroline replied, biting back a grin, "Just buy him a bottle of the oldest scotch you can find…and maybe some tumblers since he seems to like throwing them into the fireplace."

Elena laughed, shaking her head. "Caroline, I'm 18. I can't exactly buy a bottle of scotch. Besides, I don't think Damon really needs to be encouraged in his drinking habits. But," she continued more soberly, "at least we know he'd like it."

"Oh, come on, Elena," Caroline chuckled, "It's _you_. You could probably buy him a stake and he'd love it."

"Really, Care?" Elena couldn't help laughing, "A _stake_? Somehow I don't think he'd be writing me any thank you notes for something like that."

"Okay, maybe not a stake, but my point still stands," Caroline argued. "I really don't think you can go wrong, Elena."

"It's just… He's been so nice and so generous, I really want to do something nice for him, something he'll appreciate," Elena explained as she finished off her slice of pizza and took a swig of her soda.

Caroline was prevented from answering when a nearby group of people in Dickens style costumes burst into song, quickly garnering the attention of the mall patrons in the food court and many of the passing shoppers. The girls stayed in their seats until they finished their impromptu concert, clapping and cheering as they finished. After gathering their shopping bags, they both fished into their purses and dropped a few dollars into the top hat that had been set out for donations.

They walked past countless storefronts as they made their way back to the boutique to look at the stockings, occasionally pointing things out in the elaborate window displays, ooh-ing and ah-ing over the beautiful decorations that gave the air such a cheerful feeling.

"I know what you should get Damon!" Caroline suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a table set up nearby where several small cub scouts were gathered in their uniforms, approaching shoppers as they passed by.

"What are they selling?" Elena asked curiously, going over to the table. Her eyes widened when she saw the sign. "Mistletoe?" she looked disbelievingly at Caroline. "Why would I buy Damon _mistletoe_?"

"You're being deliberately dense," Caroline accused, rolling her eyes. "You know as well as I do that the nicest Christmas present you could give Damon, the one he'd really appreciate, is _you_."

Elena flushed a deep scarlet at Caroline's words, but she couldn't find it in her to deny their truth. Despite her best efforts, she was aware of how Damon felt, even if she couldn't truly admit it to herself or anyone else. It was just easier to ignore it altogether. She dealt with his flirty little comments and that eye thing he did that made her heart flutter, but to actually acknowledge that she, on some level, knew, would be to make it real, tangible. Once she put that out there, she couldn't take it back, and she didn't know if she was ready for what that meant.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Caroline pointedly cleared her throat.

"Your silence is telling, Elena," Caroline said softly. "You know as well as I do that there's something going on between you two, you can't deny that."

"Maybe not," Elena whispered, knowing Caroline would hear her, "But I don't have to admit it either."

"Not yet, perhaps," Caroline reasoned, "But eventually you'll have to stop ignoring it."

Caroline paused, giving Elena a few moments to process this before she started talking again, deliberately changing the subject. "So, stockings?"

Elena nodded, grateful to be let off the hook so easily.

"Go on ahead, I'm just going to duck into the ladies room, I'll meet you there," Elena said, turning towards the nearby restrooms. Caroline watched with a raised eyebrow as Elena disappeared down the hallway before turning to head towards the boutique. She'd just walked inside when the distant sound of Elena's voice caught her attention. She tilted her head slightly as she listened in, smirking to herself as she heard Elena stop one of the cub scouts to buy a baggie of mistletoe. She scurried further into the store and grabbed a few stockings off the shelf just as Elena walked through the door, her clandestine purchase nowhere in sight.

"They have _such_ cute stockings," Caroline said as soon as Elena reached her side.

Elena glanced at the stockings Caroline held out to her, her lips quirking upwards in a smile. "Hello Kitty? Really, Care?"

Caroline looked down at the stockings in her hand. In her rush to avoid being caught eavesdropping, she'd just grabbed a few random stockings from the display, she hadn't noticed its pink color and the popular cartoon cat emblazoned on the front.

"You mean you don't think Damon wants a Hello Kitty stocking?" Caroline joked to cover her careless mistake. "But it's so pretty."

"Somehow I think he'd appreciate that even less than a mani-pedi," Elena laughed as she hung the stocking back on the display rack and moving to browse through the multitude of stocking options.

After about an hour of browsing and debating between choices, Elena finally settled on four unique stockings, one for each of the current boarding house residents. Caroline helped her select stocking holders to go with each of them while they waited another forty minutes for the names to be embroidered.

"Anything else?" Caroline asked as they exited the boutique.

"I think I'm done," Elena answered, a yawn escaping her lips, making her smile. "And I'm totally ready to relax for the rest of the evening."

"What about Damon?" Caroline prompted, glancing at Elena as they stepped through the mall door into the moonlit parking lot, the icy wind swirling around them.

"What about him?" Elena asked uncomfortably, shifting the shopping bags in her hands to slip her gloves on.

"Don't be coy, Elena" Caroline chided. "Unless you went back and bought him mistletoe without me, you still don't have a gift for him."

"I don't know," Elena admitted, averting her gaze. "I'll figure something out I guess. I just haven't thought of the right thing yet. I'm sure it will come to me though."

"I'm sure it will, Elena," Caroline agreed as she pulled out of the parking lot, driving them back towards the boarding house, "I'm sure it will."

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><p>AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun to have a chance to write Caroline, she really is a wonderful character. I hope you'll take a moment to let me know what you thought!


	5. Of Stockings, Tape & Mistletoe

**Author's Note: **

So…days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and, well, here we are in June with a long overdue update to this holiday story. Maybe if I keep things going we'll have Christmas in July.

I cannot thank my wonderful friend and beta 2serendipity enough for her help with this story…in all honesty you probably wouldn't have this chapter (or the story itself) without her. See, I find Caroline fun to write and she comes quite easily to me (my husband claims this is because she _is_ me...still deciding if this is a compliment or not). Problem is, she tends to be VERY adept at making the other characters stop cooperating with me, constantly going back and forth between two very different reactions. Thankfully, Damon eventually decided that he was more than willing to cooperate with 2serendipity, and she brilliantly wrote me out of the mess I'd gotten myself into which allowed me to_ finally_ complete this chapter.

I sincerely apologize for the long delay in continuing this story. I'm doing my best to keep it going smoothly, but clearly that hasn't been happening. Nevertheless, I promise that I will finish this story, and I will do my best to avoid another seriously long delay like this last one.

Thank you so much to all who have added this story to their alerts and a special thank you to those who have taken the extra minute to review.

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><p>"The stockings are hung by the chimney with care," Elena intoned with a serious look as she joined Caroline in the den.<p>

Caroline stared at her for a handful of moments before cracking up. "Could you _be_ any cornier?"

"Well, you know what they say," Elena winked at Caroline, "Tis the season."

"Oh, Elena!" Caroline shook her head with a smile, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me," Elena grinned as she plopped down on the floor beside Caroline, who was already surrounded by rolls of colorful wrapping paper, ribbons, bows and tags…and of course their many shopping bags. "And help me wrap all these presents."

"Of course!" Caroline laughed. "I've already got our movie set up and ready to go."

"Mickey's Christmas Carol?" Elena questioned eagerly, her eyes lighting up.

"Duh," Caroline rolled her eyes as she pressed play on the remote, starting the movie. "It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't watch it."

Elena smiled at Caroline, happy that not all traditions came with painful memories, and that she was not the only one who seemed to enjoy them.

Caroline winked at Elena and reached for a roll of shiny green and silver wrapping paper and scissors, while Elena started pulling gifts out of their shopping bags, organizing them into neat piles for easy wrapping.

Elena was pulling out the art supplies she'd bought for Jeremy when Caroline's hand shot out and grabbed something that had fallen out of the bag. She turned to look at her quizzically. "Caroline, what-"

"And what do we have here?" Caroline asked as she made a show of examining the item concealed in her hand. With a mischievous gleam in her eyes, she slowly produced a small, clear bag tied with a bright red ribbon, dangling it in front of Elena. "Looks like _someone_ decided to take my advice about the mistletoe after all!"

"Caroline! Keep it down!" Elena hissed, reaching out in an attempt to grab the bag. "I bought it to finish decorating!"

But Caroline's enhanced reflexes were fast and she quickly lifted the bag over her head and out of Elena's reach, quirking her eyebrow up in amusement, looking for all the world like the cat who caught the canary. "Now why would you want me to be quiet about this if it's _just_ for decorating?" she mused, contemplating the mistletoe.

"Care," Elena whined, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please give it back?"

"I don't know," Caroline tilted her head. "Maybe I should just go give it to Damon? You know, one less gift to wrap?"

"No!" Elena panicked, glancing towards the doorway, relieved to see it was empty, at least for the moment.

"You mean it's _not_ for Damon?" Caroline questioned with a teasing gleam in her eyes.

"Yes! I mean no…I mean…argh!" Elena groaned in frustration. "I don't know, Care."

"Then why did you sneak away to buy it?" Caroline asked pointedly. "Did you not have a plan?"

"I…" Elena trailed off. "I don't know."

"Hmm," Caroline murmured thoughtfully, "So you didn't have any thought in your head at all when you decided to buy and then hide this _lovely_ little sprig of Christmas kisses?"

"I told you, I don't know!" Elena threw up her hands. "What do you want from me?"

"The truth would be nice," Caroline said, bringing her hand down to rest in her lap, the mistletoe held lightly between her fingers.

"The truth…the truth is…I want…you to give it back!" Elena said quickly, lunging for Caroline, who fell backwards in surprise, laughing as she landed on the ground with Elena half on top of her. Elena made several fruitless attempts to snatch the mistletoe back as Caroline continued to laugh. Her laugh was contagious, and Elena burst into giggles, collapsing onto Caroline's shaking stomach, both of them laughing uncontrollably.

"And just what are you two up to?" a deep, melodic voice drifted over to them from the doorway, startling them into silence. "This must be every guy's fantasy, but clearly you forgot to invite me to play."

Elena gasped, pushing herself up to look at Damon as he stood in the doorway, a tumbler of dark liquid held loosely in his hand. "Damon," she breathed, blowing an errant strand of hair away from her face, "What are you doing here?"

"Last time I checked, this was still _my_ house," Damon said sarcastically. "Of course, that doesn't really answer the question of what the two of you are doing rolling around on the floor, without me, I might add."

"Actually, didn't you guys sign the deed over to Elena?" Caroline asked pointedly.

"That's a mere technicality," Damon grumbled, rolling his eyes. "It's still _my_ house! Quit stalling and answer the question."

Elena rolled her eyes in response as Caroline sat up, having taken advantage of Damon's distance and attention to Elena to quickly conceal the bag of mistletoe beneath the wrapping paper.

"If you must know, Damon," Caroline began saucily, "Elena seems to think that the best way to ask for the tape is to tackle me for it." She held up a roll of clear tape for Damon to see.

Damon grinned. "Next time she needs tape, she can ask me." Elena blushed and looked down.

Caroline shook her head at his remark, but decided to ignore it. "Next time, just say please, Elena," She winked as she dropped the tape dispenser into Elena's hand.

Elena shot Caroline a grateful smile, which didn't go entirely unnoticed by Damon. He was about to call them on it, when the sound of the movie caught his attention. He turned towards the flat screen, his face twisting in confusion as he took in the animation on the screen, just as Goofy's signature laugh echoed through the room, intertwined with the sound of clanking chains and a tumble down the stairs.

"What the hell are you watching?" he asked disdainfully, looking down at the girls.

"Mickey's Christmas Carol," Elena answered in a somewhat defensive tone.

"What are you, five?" Damon asked sarcastically, looking back and forth between Elena and Caroline. "Of all the Christmas movies out there, some of them quite tolerable even, you chose _this_?"

"Hey!" Caroline snapped at Damon, seeing the sadness and discouragement beginning to seep into Elena's eyes at his words. "Elena and I have watched this movie together every year since we were three. Her mom taught us how to wrap presents while we watched this movie in front of the fireplace when we were five, and we've wrapped our gifts together watching this movie ever since. So before you go condemning it, why don't you just sit down, shut up, and actually watch it instead of making fun of us!"

Damon frowned and held his hands up to Caroline. "Hey, Barbie, don't get your panties in a twist. It's just a children's movie. Shouldn't you have outgrown it by now?"

"Don't you worry about my panties, Damon," Caroline huffed. "FYI, this movie has a lesson to teach. One that might benefit you, perhaps? It's about…"

Damon snorted, effectively interrupting her, "I know what it's about. I've read the book."

"There's a book?" Caroline asked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "You're kidding me, right? You've never read Charles Dickens?"

Caroline looked nonplussed and Elena giggled, "Come on, Care, you remember Dickens. That British guy who lived a long time ago…"

Damon cleared his throat and said dryly, "Dickens died in 1870, Elena."

Elena's eyes widened and she clapped a hand to her mouth to cover her smile, but Caroline, wanting to get back at him for making fun of her earlier, squealed, "God, Damon, you're positively ancient!"

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Good thing I don't look my age then, huh?"

Elena smiled and teased, "You know, Damon, I've heard that Christmas lights are really brilliant for concealing wrinkles, even better than candlelight. Perhaps we should hang some, light up the boarding house? You know, flatter your complexion a little, at your age?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "My complexion doesn't need flattering," he grumbled. "And haven't you done enough decorating by now? The house already looks like Santa's elves on steroids have gone ballistic…" He tilted his head, looking at Caroline and Elena sitting in the midst of colorful wrapping paper and ribbon. "Come to think of it, maybe they have…"

Caroline shook her head and pointed at the mess of presents and paper around them. "Oh, no, Damon. We're not done yet! See all of this? You know what we need?"

"We need Christmas to be over already…" Damon sighed resignedly.

"No, Damon. We need a Christmas tree! Where else are we going to put all of these presents?"

Damon groaned. "A tree? Seriously?"

"Don't you like trees?" Caroline pouted.

"Yes!" Damon scoffed. "Outside, where they belong! Not in the house! Don't you know that those needles go everywhere?"

"A Christmas tree is traditional, Damon. It's just not Christmas without a Christmas tree," Elena chimed in. "There must be some Christmas traditions that you like…"

"Name one!" Damon challenged her.

Elena opened her mouth, but nothing came out. The only thing that popped into her head, and that he was sure to appreciate, had to do with the little green sprig that was currently covered with wrapping paper. Just the thought made her blush, and Damon's brows drew together, puzzling over her strange behavior.

Caroline suddenly piped up, "Presents, Damon. Don't you like getting beautifully wrapped presents?"

"Depends on what's in them," Damon smiled slowly, and the look he sent Elena made her stomach flutter. "I do like unwrapping things though… one layer at a time…"

Elena had the feeling that the temperature in the room had just gone up ten degrees. She couldn't look away from the heat in his unblinking blue gaze.

Suddenly there was a clattering sound as the tape dispenser fell from Elena's hand onto the hardwood floor, and Caroline started getting up. "Wow, it's that late already? I have to go. Bye now, kiddies! Behave!" With a little wave, she was out of the room.

The front door slammed a moment later, causing Elena to blink, shaking her head slightly as if to clear the hazy heat from her mind. She looked back up at Damon, swallowing slightly.

"You could watch it with me, if you want to," she invited almost shyly, reaching for the tape she had dropped. "I still have presents to finish wrapping."

"You're relentless, aren't you?" he questioned wryly, receiving a big grin in response. He sighed and made a show of sitting down on the couch behind her, propping his feet up on the table and sipping his drink.

"You're being melodramatic, Damon," she teased.

"You're making me watch a movie for five year olds," he retorted.

"I'm not _making_ you do anything," Elena pointed out smugly. "I merely invited you to join me."

"Yeah, well….shut up and wrap your presents," Damon growled affectionately.

Elena smirked in triumph and turned her attention back to wrapping the pile of gifts in front of her.

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><p>The movie was nearing its end when Elena placed the last gift into the pile of brightly wrapped packages. She smiled softly to herself, she loved wrapping gifts. Setting the tape and scissors on the table, she climbed up into the chair across from Damon, tucking her legs beneath her as she curled up to watch the rest of the movie, periodically glancing in Damon's direction.<p>

After a few minutes of ignoring her furtive stares, Damon turned to look at her. "What is it, Elena?"

She flushed slightly at being caught, speaking hesitantly. "I really would like Christmas lights, and they wouldn't take you _that_ long, you know…"

"I am _not_ wasting my time hanging Christmas lights that I'll just have to take right back down," Damon said firmly.

"Please, Damon," she pleaded, trailing off at the stern look he gave her. She was silent a moment before making up her mind and beginning again, a bit of attitude creeping into her voice. "Fine then, I'll get a ladder and do it myself."

"You will do no such thing," Damon retorted gruffly. "The last thing any of us needs is for you to break your neck falling off of a ladder."

"I'll be careful…I won't fall," she argued.

"No lights, Elena," Damon said authoritatively, glaring at her. "This is not up for discussion."

Elena pouted in response, heaving a sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest, staring sullenly at the television screen.

"I do _not_ have enough alcohol for this," Damon muttered as he drained the contents of his glass. He took a last look at Elena, who was studiously ignoring him, before getting up and disappearing in search of a refill.

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><p>Damon refilled his tumbler with Scotch and was making his way leisurely back towards the den when a new addition to the mantle caught his attention. He moved closer to the fireplace, shaking his head with a slight grimace at the sight of the stockings hanging there. He rolled his eyes at the ridiculous levels to which Elena was taking this decorating thing, and was starting to turn away when it suddenly registered that there were <em>four<em> stockings. He bent to take a closer look, scanning the names embroidered on each of the stockings: Alaric, Jeremy, Elena…Damon.

He shook his head slightly as if to clear it, convinced he was seeing things, but the fourth stocking bearing his name remained in place beside Elena's. The stocking was the color of the azure sea, with silver scroll-like snowflakes of varying sizes scattered about the silky fabric. The light sparkle of the silver snowflakes was offset by a slightly darker silver trim along the top, his name elegantly embroidered in a deep midnight blue. He reached out and touched the embroidery briefly before removing the stocking from its hanger, staring at it for a moment before glancing back towards the den, a perplexed look on his face.

"Elena," he called as he strode purposefully into the den, "What…" he trailed off as he entered the room, only to find Elena curled up with her head resting on her arms, fast asleep in the chair he'd left her pouting in less than 10 minutes before, the end credits of her childhood movie just beginning to roll in the background.

His face softened slightly as he looked down at her sleeping form. He set the stocking down on the table before scooping her up into his arms, a gentle smile crossing his lips as she buried her head against his chest, sighing contentedly in her sleep.

He walked out of the room and up the stairs, taking care to move slowly, internally rationalizing that he didn't want to wake her with any sudden movements, that his speed had nothing to do with wanting to savor the moment of holding her cuddled in his arms. All too soon he reached her room and laid her ever so gently on the bed, careful not to wake her as he pulled the covers up around her. She unexpectedly reached out to him, her fingers wrapping lightly around his hand, pulling it close against her cheek. He sunk down onto the edge of the bed, gently brushing a few strands of hair away from her face with his free hand. He had no idea of how much time passed as he watched her sleep, but it seemed far too short when she finally rolled onto her side, releasing his hand as she did so.

After the space of a few heartbeats he finally stood and moved towards the door, whispering softly as he shut it behind him, "Sweet dreams, Elena."

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><p><strong>AN:** Thank you so much for reading, if you have a moment, I'd love to hear your feedback!


	6. Silent Night

**Author's Note:**

Hi everyone! I'd like to start with a huge apology to all of you who have taken the time to favorite, follow and comment on my little holiday story here. I'm so sorry that this update has been so ridiculously long in coming. I don't have much of an excuse other than a somewhat hectic schedule and a brutal case of writer's block (for which I partly blame Damon and Elena, this chapter was going along GREAT until they took me by total surprise near the end and I got completely stuck).

I'd really like to thank my wonderful friend and beta, 2serendipity, for all of her assistance. She's brilliant at helping me get around the curve balls these characters seem to enjoy throwing at me. Without her constant encouragement, this chapter would most likely still be sitting unfinished in my computer files. (and don't worry my friend, no need to send the ghost of Christmas past my way…at least not until the end of the week ;) )

And for those of you who like to listen to music as you read, I wrote this chapter exclusively to _Christmas Lullaby_ by Mannheim Steamroller.

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><p>"<em>Lena! Lena! Lena!" came the sound of Jeremy's voice, timed with each enthusiastic bounce that shook her bed. "Wake up, Elena! You don't want to miss Christmas now, do you?"<em>

"_Wha-" Elena mumbled, pushing her hair out of her face as she sat up sleepily, taking in the sight of her little brother bouncing up and down on her bed in his Spider Man footy pajamas, his unruly brown hair falling into his eyes. "Jer, what time is it?"_

"_It's present time!" the boy exclaimed in glee. "Come on, Lena," he tugged at her arm before jumping off her bed, "Daddy says I can't open my presents until you come downstairs!"_

"_So I should take my time getting ready then, right?" Elena asked with a sly grin, her brother's excitement chasing away the last vestiges of sleep from her brain._

"_Noooo!" Jeremy howled from the doorway. "You have to come now!"_

"_Alright, Jer, alright," Elena soothed. "I just need to find my slippers and I'll be down; my feet are cold."_

"_Promise?" Jeremy looked up at her expectantly from the doorway, practically quivering in excitement._

"_I promise," she smiled as he disappeared. She found her powder blue slippers tucked just beneath her bed and slid her chilly feet into their fuzzy warmth. Pulling her terrycloth robe around her shoulders, she headed downstairs._

"_Oh, there you are sweetheart," came her father's voice as he rose from the couch to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Elena."_

"_Merry Christmas, Dad," Elena smiled, giving him a quick hug. "You ready to open some presents, Jeremy?" she asked, turning to find where he'd disappeared to. She spotted him sprawled on the chair in ripped jeans and a faded t-shirt, his headphones half over his ears and a sketch pad in his hands._

"_Whatever," he mumbled, eyes glued to the pencil and paper before him. "I don't get why you're so excited about this. It's stupid anyways."_

"_Now, now, Jeremy," Miranda scolded gently as she walked into the living room, handing a mug of steaming hot cocoa to Elena. "Just because you're acting the part of a sullen teenager doesn't mean your sister has to. You used to enjoy this as much as she does." _

_Elena took a sip of the delicious peppermint laced liquid as she sat down beside the huge pile of presents beneath the tree. She was just reaching out for one when the front door opened and a dark haired figure stepped inside, shaking snow from his coat._

"_Damon?" Elena asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Elena, don't be rude!" her mother admonished, walking over to take Damon's coat._

"_Yeah, Elena," Damon teased, his signature smirk firmly in place. "Or did you forget you invited me over for presents and Christmas breakfast?"_

_Elena gaped at him, confusion clouding her mind._

"_Hey, son, Merry Christmas!" her father greeted Damon with a clap on the back. "Glad you could make it."_

"_Thanks, Grayson," Damon said sincerely, causing Elena's eyebrows to all but disappear into her dark hair._

_After a moment, Elena stood and moved quickly to Damon. Instead of falling into his waiting arms, she grabbed his elbow and hissed under her breath, "We need to talk."_

_Damon glanced toward the ceiling before grinning down at her, a devilish gleam in his eyes. She was about to ask him what was going on when her brother's voice broke the silence._

"_Ooh, look at that, Elena…you're standing under the mistletoe. You know what that means," he teased._

"_Jeremy's right," her dad pitched in. "It's tradition, after all. You have to kiss him."_

"_But Dad!" Elena protested, looking between everyone as if trapped. Finally, her gaze fell on Miranda. "Mom! Tell them to stop being silly. I'm not going to kiss Damon, especially not with an audience!"_

"_That's never stopped you before," Damon whispered huskily as he stepped towards her, closing the little space between them._

"_Damon's right, sweetheart," Miranda agreed with a soft smile. "You've never worried about showing your affection before, and this is a Christmas tradition."_

"_And Gilberts don't shirk their Christmas traditions," her dad chimed in._

_Caught in the expectant stares from her family and, well, Damon, Elena gaze darted quickly between the three, confused as to what universe Jeremy had unknowingly woken her up in. Her breath caught in her throat as Damon's hand came up to cup her cheek and he lowered his head towards hers…_

* * *

><p>Elena started, waking up from her strange dream, her fingers tracing her lips softly as she sleepily wondered how her mind had conjured the unusual mishmash of memories and, well, whatever the rest of that was. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room, she noticed a soft glow coming from the window. She felt like she'd just fallen asleep, and a glance at the clock beside her bed confirmed that it was only 2am, much too early for the sun to be rising yet. Puzzled, she pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed, tiptoeing over to the window. She reached out and swept the curtains to the side, gasping in delight at the sight of the bright Christmas lights hanging outside her window. She pressed her cheek against the glass, smiling at the glow that seemed to surround the boarding house.<p>

After a few minutes of staring at the cheerful lights, Elena let the curtains fall back into place across the windows, sliding her feet into her soft black boots as she moved quickly towards the door. The house was still and silent as she made her way across the hall and down the stairs to the front entrance, taking care to tread softly so as not to wake anyone. She hesitantly turned the handle, thankful that it did not resist her as she swung the door open and slipped out into the night, pulling the door closed gently behind her.

Unable to contain her excitement, Elena practically skipped into the front yard before turning around to behold the lit splendor of the boarding house. Her breath caught in her chest as she marveled at the multicolored lights adorning the edges of the house, crisscrossing their way across the expanse of the roof and outlining each of the windows. The usually dark bushes and trees were awash in white twinkle lights, giving the illusion that hundreds of fairies had taken up residence within the shelter of their branches. It was as if fairy dust had been sprinkled upon the boarding house, magically lighting up its inherent darkness.

She felt a slight breeze and subconsciously rubbed her bare arms, noticing for the first time how cold it was outside, clad only in her flannel pajama pants and a thin t-shirt. She was half-heartedly trying to convince herself to go back inside when she felt the weight of a jacket being wrapped around her shoulders. Her eyes closed briefly as she inhaled the scent that suddenly cocooned her, at once familiar and strangely exhilarating.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to make yourself sick," Damon teased gently.

Elena turned her head, smiling slightly up at him as he stood beside her. "Thank you," she whispered, to which he merely inclined his head in response. "It's so beautiful, it looks like the front a Currier and Ives Christmas card."

The corner of Damon's mouth lifted, caught between a smirk and what might have been the beginning of a real smile, "It's not half bad, if I do say so myself."

"Why, Damon?" Elena asked in a whisper, unable to stop the question, her eyes alight with grateful curiosity.

"It's what you wanted," he said with a shrug, studiously not meeting her gaze.

"But you were so against it last night," she said in confusion. "What changed your mind?"

"You did," he responded earnestly, suddenly unleashing his brilliant blue gaze upon her.

Elena frowned, wondering what she had done that would have prompted him to create such a beautiful surprise for her. To her knowledge, all she'd done was talk him into watching Mickey's Christmas Carol with her while she finished wrapping gifts. She frowned slightly at the thought, remembering that she still hadn't found the right gift for him.

Damon smiled at her evident uncertainty, mistaking her frown for frustration. "I found the stockings," he offered by way of explanation, hoping she would understand. He sighed as her brow furrowed further. "You didn't have to do that."

"But stockings are a Christmas tradition," Elena insisted, confused as to how the stockings she'd bought could have provoked such a change in his attitude. "It just wouldn't be right if we didn't have stockings."

"For you and Jeremy, even Alaric, no, it wouldn't be right," Damon agreed, looking back towards the boarding house. "But it wouldn't have made a bit of difference if I had one or not."

"Of course it would have mattered," Elena argued, still floundering.

Damon shrugged and they both fell silent, the stillness of the night and the quiet of the moment stretching out between them.

"I've never had a stocking before," Damon finally admitted softly.

Elena turned to look up at him as she processed his confession. The words she was formulating died on her lips as she found herself trapped in his intense, crystal blue eyes, feeling for all the world like she was drowning in his hypnotic stare. The small space between them disappeared, though she couldn't be certain which of them had moved. She felt her hand press against his chest as she tilted her head back to look up at him. Her eyes fluttered closed of their own accord, and he moved closer still, dipping his head in an almost exact imitation of his actions in the dream she'd just woken from. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the sweet scent of his breath reached her senses, anticipation building in her stomach.

A sudden cold and unexpected sensation on the tip of her nose startled her. Her eyes flew open as she felt the same icy sensation again on her cheek.

Looking around and then finally up, she broke into a wide grin. "Damon, look," she whispered breathlessly, "It's snowing!" She turned to look at the snow falling lightly around them, dampening the ground and leaving faint traces of white. After a moment she stepped back from him, spreading her arms wide and tilting her face back, a radiant smile lighting up her upturned face as she reveled in the moment, looking as if she were trying to absorb the magic of the first snow.

Her breath came out in a puffy cloud when she spoke again, quietly as if afraid to disturb the soundlessly floating whiteness. "It's so beautiful…"

Damon smiled down at her, his disappointment at the untimely interruption overshadowed by the sheer beauty of the childlike wonder in her eyes at the snowflakes drifting down around them in the silence of the night. "Beautiful," he murmured, eyes glued to her still form.

"My dad used to tell me that you could make a wish at the first snow, and the magic of Christmas would make it come true," Elena whispered so softly that Damon almost didn't hear her. His heart clenched at the wistfulness in her voice; he'd hardly ever heard her talk about her parents. He let the silence stretch on, comfortably enveloped in the peace of the moment.

"Maybe we'll have a white Christmas," she mused hopefully, lowering her arms as she looked over at him.

"Did you wish for one?" Damon asked gently.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," Elena responded with a tiny smirk.

"Well I guess you'd better not tell me then," Damon teased, looking around as the snow began falling more heavily. "But if this keeps up, you just might get your wish."

Elena looked around, a slight tremor running through her as the wind picked up, driving the icy air against her skin.

"Why don't we get you back to bed before you freeze to death out here?" Damon suggested, moving towards her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders to guide her back towards the boarding house.

Elena paused just before they reached the door, pulling him to a stop as she looked up at the lights and the snow. "I don't want it to end," she whispered, sounding slightly panicked.

"Don't worry," Damon assured her confidently as he propelled them forward and through the front door. "It's just the beginning."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter; it was really a lot of fun to write. I'd initially debated holding this till I got at least one or two more chapters done so that I could be sure to post consistently for you, but I figured that you had all waited long enough. But don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter and hope to have it up by the end of next week.


	7. Hot Chocolate

Author's Note:

Welcome back to any of you still following along, you all deserve some kind of award for your patience with me and this holiday tale. I had originally planned to hold this chapter while I got more written, but real life has been demanding the majority of my time, and it's somewhat challenging to fully immerse myself in a wintery Christmas fic when it's over 100 degrees outside, and I don't do anything halfway. So after this chapter, this story will be going on a temporary hiatus until early Fall (I'm shooting for September), when I'll have things together and will be able to post consistently until we get to the end of this little adventure. Despite the delays due to varying combinations of real life and writer's block, I promise that this story will be finished, and I want to thank each of you for being patient with me.

I'd like to say an extra special thanks to my amazing beta, 2serendipity, for her encouragement, wisdom and patience, and for being such a loyal and wonderful friend.

In the meantime, you're welcome to find me on Twitter shadowfaxangel. And for those of you who follow other pairings, keep an eye out for a short Klaroline fic I'm working on.

* * *

><p>Elena sat in her window (funny, how she already thought of it as hers), staring out at the sparkling Christmas lights that shone brightly in the darkness of the night, completely lost in thought.<p>

"A penny for your thoughts," Damon's voice floated over to her, drawing her attention back to the present. She turned and smiled gently at his frame, silhouetted in the doorway of her room.

"I was just admiring the lights," she admitted after a moment. "They're so beautiful; I could sit here and stare at them forever."

"Which is precisely what you've been doing every night this week," Damon laughed softly. "Or haven't you noticed that it's nearly 3am…again?"

Elena glanced at the clock on the nightstand which affirmed the truth of how late it had gotten. She turned back towards the window, a dream-like quality to her voice when she replied, "I...I guess I just lost track of time."

"You know, if I knew they were going to keep you awake all night, I wouldn't have put them up," Damon teased, crossing the room to sit beside her in the window seat. "Or I'd have at least waited until you didn't have school at the crack of dawn. You really should get some sleep, Elena."

"I'll be fine, Damon," she said, stubbornness creeping into her tone. "I don't need much sleep anyways, and besides, I'm really not tired."

"Right," Damon smirked as a big yawn escaped her lips, a slight blush stealing its way across her cheeks. "Well, tired or not, it's a proven fact that you need sleep. Or have you already forgotten that whole beast incident?" He grinned as Elena looked away in a failed attempt to hide her deepening blush.

When it became obvious that she wasn't going to respond, he shrugged and scooped her up, ignoring her squeal of protest as he deposited her a few feet away in the center of her bed before returning to the window to pull the curtains closed, leaving the room illuminated only by the faint light from the hallway.

"Don't worry, Elena," he assured her softly as he paused in her doorway, "I'm not going to take them down, they'll still be there tonight…and the night after that…and the night after that."

Elena chuckled as she snuggled down into her covers. "Goodnight, Damon," she said with a drowsy smile, closing her eyes as Damon gently pulled her door shut.

"Sweet dreams, Elena," Damon murmured from the other side of her door, lingering until he heard her breathing even out before disappearing downstairs to his own room.

* * *

><p>The next morning Elena sat straight up in bed, glancing at the clock before leaping out of bed and rushing into the bathroom, flinging pajamas off as she hurried into the shower. Within minutes she was back out, toweling off quickly and pulling on a pair of jeans and a deep purple, long sleeved shirt before throwing her hair up into a messy bun and grabbing her toothbrush. She spared an extra minute to brush a light powder foundation onto her skin and swipe a bit of blush across her cheeks before shoving her feet into her black boots, grabbing her book bag and rushing out of her bedroom and down the stairs at breakneck speed.<p>

She slowed her descent as soon as she saw Damon standing at the foot of the stairs, holding out a travel mug of steaming hot coffee with a smirk.

"I'll be fine, Damon. I don't need much sleep anyways, Damon," he mocked in a high-pitched voice as she rolled her eyes and snatched the mug from him.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered before looking around. "Where are Ric and Jeremy?"

"They left about ten minutes ago," Damon explained as he grabbed his keys and opened the door, turning to look at her. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"I have a car, Damon. And I can drive," Elena said a bit flippantly as she put on her coat and reached for her scarf and gloves.

"With all the sleep you didn't get last night and the amount of black ice on the roads this morning? I don't think so," Damon stated matter-of-factly, his tone indicating it was not up for discussion. "Besides, I'm picking you up after school anyways; you won't be needing your car."

Elena turned a quizzical eye to him. "And why exactly are you picking me up? I don't need a babysitter, Damon."

"You'll have to wait and see… It's a surprise," Damon winked at her as he held the passenger door of his Camaro open for her to climb in. He shut the door as soon as she was in, flashing to his side and dropping into the driver's seat, the engine already purring as heat poured out of the floor vents. "And I'm pretty sure we've covered the fact that you not needing a babysitter is debatable," he retorted as he pressed the gas, heading towards Mystic Falls High School.

Elena didn't have the energy to argue with him, instead occupying herself with sipping the deliciously hot, caffeine-filled beverage in her hands. "Thank you for the coffee," she said gratefully, glancing at his profile.

"No problem," he said before shooting her a sly look. "I figured you'd need it. I don't think they allow beasts on school grounds."

"Really? Then how is it that you get on campus?" she countered sassily.

"Ooh," Damon snickered, "Someone's feisty this morning."

"You're the one who gave me caffeine," Elena deadpanned, looking straight ahead to keep from smiling.

"Fair enough," Damon relented, turning back to focus on the road.

They drove the rest of the way in companionable silence, a stark contrast to the charged energy that seemed to fill the room anytime they'd been together since their almost kiss, neither of them willing to broach that particular subject. Sooner than she thought possible, they were pulling up to the high school.

Damon flashed around and opened her door before she could even get her seat belt un-buckled, pushing the door shut once she'd exited the car.

"Way to keep a low profile," she muttered.

"There's no one here," he shot back, gesturing to the nearly deserted parking lot around them as Elena pulled her bag over her shoulder

"I'll see you after school," he reminded her as she started to walk away.

Elena rolled her eyes as she turned around and shoved the now empty coffee mug against his chest, shivering slightly as his fingertips brushed against her hand. "So you keep saying. Where exactly will we be going?"

"Geez, Elena," Damon sighed theatrically. "What are they teaching you here? Shouldn't you know the definition of a _surprise_ by now?"

The final late bell rang, interrupting Elena's retort. She sighed and shook her head, pulling her bag higher on her shoulder as she spun around and hurried to class, doing her best to ignore the penetrating feel of his eyes on her back as she disappeared into the building.

* * *

><p>"So, what's going on tonight?" Jeremy asked as he leaned on the other side of her open locker door while she gathered her books at the end of the day.<p>

"Umm, I don't know, why?" Elena questioned distractedly, debating on whether or not to grab her history book and get ahead on the reading for the rest of the week.

"Ric caught me in the hall earlier and told me to be home by 6, but he wouldn't tell me why," Jeremy explained. "He pretty much pulled the responsible adult card."

"Well he _is_ the responsible adult, Jer," Elena reasoned, missing his skeptical look as she shoved her history book into her bag. Then she looked up at him thoughtfully. "Maybe it has something to do with why Damon insisted on picking me up today?"

"Huh?" Jeremy responded in confusion.

"Well, since you and Ric abandoned me this morning, Damon insisted on driving me to school," Elena explained as she slammed the door of her locker closed, giving the knob on her purple lock a spin to ensure the combination was scrambled as she met her brother's eyes again. "He made some lame excuse about black ice and said that he was going to pick me up anyways, and when I asked _why_, all he would say was that it's a surprise."

Jeremy's eyes narrowed. "Ric _and_ Damon being evasive? Sounds like trouble to me. Maybe I'll stay at Matt's tonight…"

Elena chuckled. "Like you said, Jer, Ric is the responsible adult…sort of…so I'm sure it will be fine. Whatever _it_ happens to be," she shrugged her shoulders and walked past Jeremy towards the outer doors of the school.

"And, Jer," she paused and looked over her shoulder, catching her brother's eyes, mischief twinkling in her own. "Don't be late," she winked before slipping out the doors with a laugh. Her laugh dissipated as the wind hit her, enveloping her in its icy embrace. She shivered as she looked around for Damon, tugging her gloves over her rapidly freezing fingers in the process. She spotted a blue Camaro parked in the front row and darted quickly over to his car, slamming the door shut once her feet were safely inside.

"Hey now!" Damon protested, "Be nice to my car!"

"Sorry, Damon," Elena apologized meekly through slightly chattering teeth, slowly relaxing as the welcome heat in the car enveloped her. She was already beginning to warm up as Damon pulled out onto the main road, heading towards the outskirts of town. "Will you tell me where we're going yet?"

"Clearly you haven't learned the meaning of _patience_ either," Damon teased, grinning at her before turning his attention back to the road. "You'll figure it out when we get there," he assured her.

Elena huffed and turned to look out the window as they sped down the road. She could almost feel Damon smirking beside her. '_Infuriating vampire'_ she thought to herself. Her irritation disappeared though as the vintage car slowed to turn onto a brightly lit side road, passing beneath a Christmas light covered sign reading "Mystic Falls Christmas Tree Farm".

Elena turned excitedly to Damon. "Really?!" she nearly squealed in delight. "I thought you vetoed a Christmas tree!"

Damon chuckled, a genuine smile on his face as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine. "I promised you a _real_ Christmas celebration, Elena. I intend to make good on that promise. And what's Christmas without an enormous evergreen bleeding needles all over the parlor?"

Elena's eyes watered slightly as she beamed at him. Before she could say another word, he was out of the car and opening her door, just as he had earlier that morning. He reached out his hand to help pull her out of the car, resting his other hand on the small of her back as he guided her towards the wagon that would take them out to the trees.

The freezing wind kissing her rosy cheeks didn't seem quite so cold to Elena as Damon bundled her under a blanket on the wagon bench, sitting beside her with his arm around her shoulders to steady her as the wagon lurched forward. It rattled along, following a dirt path through the hillsides covered in every kind of evergreen imaginable in as many different sizes. Tall wooden posts stood at the end of each row of trees, Christmas light strung between them, standing out against the darkening sky. Each post had a decorative sign proudly announcing the kind of tree growing there.

"So, what kind of tree do you want, Elena?" Damon asked as they rode further into the tree farm.

"Noble fir," she breathed, "We always got a noble fir."

Damon's arm tightened almost imperceptibly around her shoulders as he called out to the driver to take them to the noble firs. Not long after, they arrived at their destination. Elena practically jumped off the wagon and made a beeline for the trees, pausing at the edge to wait for Damon to catch up to her before turning and walking into the large cluster of evergreens. They walked quite a ways up into the grove before Elena paused, looking up at an enormous noble fir. It was full and plump with the perfect slope of branches, and a ramrod straight top.

Damon whistled slightly. "Damn, you don't fool around with your Christmas trees, do you?"

"What do you think? Is it too big?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's got to be nearly 10 feet tall, Elena," Damon teased, "But if it's the one you like best, then it's perfect."

Elena launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Damon wrapped his arms around her, his laugh reverberating through his chest pressed against her ear. "Anything for you, Elena," he replied softly after a moment. "Though, if you want to get this green giant home, you're going to have to let go of me so I can cut it down."

"Oh, sorry!" Elena laughed, pulling away from him and stepping back hastily as she noticed him brandishing a saw. "Where did you get that?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, while you were busy sprinting away from the wagon, I thought we might want to be able to actually bring the tree back with us," he teased as he leaned down, making quick work of cutting the tree from its roots.

Elena raised her eyes as he grabbed the trunk and held his other arm out to her. "Dang, where were you when we cut down our tree every year of my life?" she asked in awe as she slipped her gloved hand into the crook of his elbow to begin their descent back to the wagon. "It always took my dad and Jeremy at least 15 minutes to just cut the tree down."

Damon shrugged, "Perks of being a vampire, I guess."

Elena marveled at the ease with which he simply towed the tree back towards the wagon, holding her arm all the while as if he was just talking a walk in the park. She had never had it so easy getting a Christmas tree before. She didn't even break any nails getting the tree onto the wagon, because Damon just put her back in her seat before making it seem like the giant tree weighed nothing as he loaded it in the wagon's bed. It wasn't until they got back to the parking lot that she realized something…

"Oh no," She moaned in distress, causing Damon to look around in confusion as to what could have upset her. "Will the tree even fit on your car? I didn't think about that when we chose the biggest one they had…" she trailed off, looking nervously at the car across the parking lot.

"You're kidding, right?" Damon quirked his eyebrow up at her. "You actually thought we were going to put _any_ kind of tree on the roof of my baby? Another perk of being me…" he trailed off as he tapped a nearby worker on the shoulder, his pupils dilating as he caught the man's gaze. "You will make sure this is delivered by 6pm tonight, no charge."

The man looked blankly at him before nodding and scribbling something down on his clipboard. He turned and started barking orders to get the tree loaded and delivered, this one was a top priority.

Elena simply rolled her eyes as her hands went instinctively to rest on her hips. "You know you're giving them one hell of a tip later, right?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Damon muttered, unfazed by her scolding. "How about some hot chocolate before we head back?"

"Hot chocolate sounds perfect," Elena nodded enthusiastically, rubbing her gloved hands together as they walked up the wooden plank steps of the rustic looking building near the tractor, disappearing into the warm interior and the promise of mugs of steaming cheer.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear from you!


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